Well researched, even while taking fictitious liberties with history, which is expected in historical fiction. Kept me reading and I especially enjoyed that Maria Feodorovna got her own book- just hope that someday her biography is written in full.

Extremely immersive! I found myself sinking into this world and was unable to put this book down. I've always been fascinated by the Romanov family and this look at matriarch of the family was exactly what I was looking for to learn more.

Much more fast paced than I imagined it would be, this gets 5 stars from me!

Disclaimers: This review is in exchange for an ARC from NetGalley. Second, I do Russian history, especially of the imperial court in the revolutionary era. So, I'm not your average reader here.

"The Romanov Empress" is the first time I've read someone in fiction actually try to pay attention to the last dowager empress of imperial Russia, Maria Feodorovna (aka Dagmar of Denmark, aka Minnie.) Gortner attempts to trace Dagmar's evolution from lesser royalty to empress of the most dazzling, and then most famously destroyed, court in Europe. Throughout the work, the author gives the empress credit for her courage, her will, her loyalty to Russia and her family.

On the downside: The book is a bit heavy handed in showing off the author's research. Off hand comments read like nods to Wikipedia, like how many rooms were in a given palace. (I'm not going to critique minor errors and fudging of some names, since that's not the point of a novel, but obvious "I did my research!" moments take me out of the book.)

In addition, I struggle with some of the characterizations, especially that of Alexandra, who comes off as manipulative, cold, a harridan, and frankly awful. The dowager empress did not have the best relationship with Alexandra, it is true, and Alexandra was hardly beloved by a lot of the court social powers. It certainly makes sense that in a novel with the first person perspective of the dowager empress we see a negative take on Alexandra. At the same time, the text feels as if it is a pushing a narrative beyond dislike, beyond admitted character issues, into a single conclusion: that the Revolution happened just because Alexandra was ill-suited to be empress and Nicholas too weak (and frankly too stupid) to say no to her. I struggle here because while I concede it is appropriate for a negative take on Alexandra to appear in a first-person account given by the empress, at the same time it just feels like the author is going beyond the lead character's perspective and dropping a larger conclusion, which comes off as a bit cartoonish, with obvious villains.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and found it a fast read. It put me in the shoes of someone who has been treated less in historical fiction and biographies of this era, despite the fact she was one of the very few elite Romanovs to survive the Revolution. I'm giving it a 3 star rating ("I liked it") in the GoodReads rating system, although I'd bump it up to a 3.5 if I could.

This was a magnificent book from beginning to end. I am a fan of history and monarchy. And the Romanovs were always a source of fascination for me. I enjoyed reading of Minnie's point of view, even though she exasperated me at times, and could be quite stubborn and judgmental. Even though I knew how Tsar Nicholas II story ended, I felt despair and dismay to know because of his stubbornness and sometimes ineffectiveness, basically caused his downfall. It was still painful to read. This book was hard to put down as it was that good. I voluntarily read this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

In The Romanov Empress, we follow the voice of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna (Princess Marie Sophie Frederikke Dagmar/Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna) or Minnie as she races down a long glittering corridor past portraits of figures attached to unimaginable tragedy, political struggles, bitter rivalries and tableaus of impending bloody anarchy. This is a historical drama if there ever was one as events unfold and you hold your breath when explosive scenes come to life. It's quite the story that pulls you in and will have many reaching for additional works about the Romanov Dynasty but for a few readers, they may wish they found another title or could replace negatives with positives.

To be honest, the descriptive scenes at times brutal and graphic were handled with a respectful approach and for a curious reader just hearing so many infamous names and titles of Russian and English Royalty for the first time, you are sure to create a mental outline of certain characters that will hopefully carry over to other interests and continued reading to smooth out any final mental portrait. Perhaps this type of novel is more geared toward a newer audience which is fantastic to see but for those of us who already know the illustrious names and connection of Courts, The Romanov Empress begins to show the tarnish under the flash and dazzle in the first couple of chapters (and then continues) with poor character dialogue (that just rambles and sounds like an emotionless recitation of an encyclopedia article) and odd placements of conclusions (every chapter had to end with dramatic foreshadowing, awkward boudoir scene, another cigarette break or a bomb blast). These kinds of noticeable negatives were soldered between excellent descriptions of court life and easy to follow politics that I must say overall impressed me and are worth recommending to anyone but I couldn't ignore the repetitive dialogue that only ended with me seriously distrusting the narrator and wishing another voice to speak up.

By the final page, I had enough and believe me I wanted to love this novel. It just wasn't what I was hoping for and I think one personal negative of this book fixating on animosity between certain family members to the point where it felt there was an underlying agenda pushed me to the edge. Still in a way I'm glad I read The Romanov Empress it has shown me how far I have come with my tastes on fiction (or personal studies) but I believe I have reached the end of my historical fiction journey and I should only seek out non-fiction with a pairing of narrative flare in the pages when it comes to fascinating and mysterious topics such as The House of Romanov in the future.

With thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for kindly sending me an advanced copy of The Romanov Empress: A Novel of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna

The Romanov Empress is an outstanding peek at the mother of Tsar Nicholas Alexander Romanov . Beginning with her life a a young, rather penniless princess and tracing her life from Denmark to Russia, readers will get a fascinating glimpse of the opulence, loyalties, conflicts, and difficulties that shaped Russian history. If you are any kind of fan of historical fiction, don't miss this one!!!

The Romanov Empress is another fascinating historical read from C.W. Gortner. I knew very little about Empress Maria before, and found this a compelling read.

The Romanov Empress by C.W. Gortner
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 5/5 stars

**THIS REVIEW ASSUMES ALL HISTORICAL INFORMATION IS CORRECT**

The Romanov dynasty is perhaps one of the most famous in all of world history. Their glorious downfall, the death of the tsar and his family, and the forever-changed face of Russia have all been rehashed again and again in everything from scholarly works to popular culture. Their life, and particularly their deaths, have all but been immortalized, yet these accounts, especially those is popular culture often fail to lay the groundwork or simply gloss over the groundwork to get to the “sexy” bits. Gortner doesn’t skip the groundwork at all but rolls around in it and really builds the entire narrative around one woman, Maria Feodorovana, mother to Russia’s last tsar, the ill-fated and completely inept, Nicholas II.

Maria was the very definition of duty-bound! From the moment she was born, Maria was always intended to marry well and increase the reputation and hopefully fortunes of her family. As a princess of Denmark, Maria (her adopted Russian name!) understood her place in the world, and with some allowances by her parents, was able to choose her future husband. As it turns out, she also chose a country on the edge of collapse.

Despite little in the way of a formal education, Maria has a strong sense of common sense and for reading a situation. She understands, inherently, if she is to be accepted as a foreigner, she must understand her new country, its people, and make herself known as a force among the nobility and aristocracy. Maria does every bit of that and more, and over the course of her life, she works ceaselessly to advise and guide both her husband and her son. Through uprisings, revolutions, and assassination attempts, Maria is at the forefront of the action, often risking her own life to preserve what she holds dear. Unfortunately, for most of her life, Maria is fighting a losing battle and she is only ever able to scratch the surface of caring for a desperately lost country.

The Bottom Line: This was my first C.W. Gortner book and it will certainly not be my last! The Romanov Empress is everything I look for in historical fiction and then some. This is a sweeping tale, a saga really, that spans more than half a century and includes nearly every royal house/family in Europe. At the center of it all is an indomitable woman determined to see her family and her monarchy survive. There is a sense of impending doom from page one of this read and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Quite frankly, before this book, I too only really knew the History Channel version of the Romanov family, and I am so glad I now know far more than that glossy version. This was an absolutely enthralling tale and I heartily recommend this one to any reader fond of truly excellent historical fiction.

The story Princess Dagmar of Denmark who went on to become the infamous Tsarina Maria Fedorovna. The story covers The life, love and history of “Minnie’s life.

While I was familiar with the Romanov Dynasty I have never enjoyed hard core historical novels. However the author has taken a far different approach and takes the liberty of telling the story from Minnie’s perspective. While some of the writing may not be true, the historical events are. This made reading the book far more enjoyable for me and I could relate to her story, heartbreaks, and love of all things family.

While a longer book, and knowing full well how the story ultimately ends, you will find that you can’t put it down and don’t want the book to end. A brilliant approach to telling the story. If you like historical fiction, this is your Summer read!

I absorbed this book! I've always had an interest in the Romanov family and the Tsars of Russia, but didn't know much about the young Danish princess, Minnie, who became Maria Fedorovna, mother of the last Tsar and one of the most wealthy, powerful, and respected women of her time. Because Minnie is the narrator of the story, we are provided a unique perspective into the Russian aristocracy and life before, during and after WWII. I was captivated from the first page.

With the hindsight of history, watching the missteps of the Romanov family and the lost opportunities to escape Russia when things turned against them is heartbreaking. Greatly enjoyed this book and the view of the generation before Nicholas and Alexandra.

Thanks Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and netgalley for this ARC.

This will make you see the Romanovs in a different light. You''ll wish you could reach out and strangle a few historical figures, hug others, and it will enrich your reading of the time period.

This is one of the best books I've read in a very long time! I LOVE reading about the Russian Czars and their families and I've read a lot of books about them. This book had information I didn't know. I honestly felt like I knew the people in the book. It was beautifully written! It starts with nineteen year old Minnie (Maria Feodorovna) arriving in Russia to wed Romanov heir, Alexander. Her sister, Alix has moved to England and has married Queen Victoria's eldest son. When Alexander dies, their son, Nicholas takes over. It's a story of a family who was rich and powerful and still had problems and betrayal and death like all other families. I would read this book over and over! I LOVED it!!

WOW! I love anything written by C.W. Gortner. He has an uncanny ability to bring the past to life. Maria Romanov (Dagmar of Denmark) is a fascinating woman. A strong woman whose story has been overshadowed by the tragedy of her son and his empress. I loved reading about Maria's strengths and weaknesses.. She was a woman I admire and respect. Gortner not only brings her back to life for us, but allows us, the readers, to travel along her journey through life. We experience her happiness and her deep tragedies. I felt her pain when Alexander died, and her anger towards her daughter in law, the Empress. Personally, I find her a much more interesting character than Alexandra. Her interactions with Queen Victoria made me laugh. Gortner has become one of my favorite historical fiction writers.

A ve3ry good read. Well written. Loved the history. Aahh, may we all be a Empress. Such an interesting story. The Romanovs were quite a story. and sure made amazing history..

This book was a welcome look into the life of Czar Nicholas's family and it better elucidated events that lead up to the Russian Revolution before Nicholas's reign. I would recommend it to anyone who was interested in historical fiction.

Minnie (Princess of Denmark) comes of age to marry in the political world and refuses to marry for anything but love. After the tragic death of her fiancé and promises made, she moves forward to fall in love and become the tsarina of Russia. This takes the reader through the history of the Russian royalty reign of Alexander II, Alexander III and the revolution.

This was a book I just couldn't put down. Most people have heard of Anastasia but this book is about her grandmother Maria from a poor royal family in Denmark. She marries young and becomes the tsarina of Russia and her sister marries Queen Victoria's son and ultimately becomes the queen of England. The author breathed life into a story I never knew I wanted to know. This is one of my favorite aspects of historical fiction because when it is done right, like this book, you want to research and learn more about real history.

Maria has Nicholas who becomes the last Tsar of Russia. You see everything she goes through from switching to a regal lifestyle and having to command a household of employees to politics, assassination attempts and the rioting that ultimately leads to the Russian Revolution. I loved how strong and compassionate Maria was. She frequented charity work and took nursing classes, anything she could do to help her people most in need. You even get glimpses of young Nicholas & his teen years to his surprising choice for his wife. I definitely want to go back and read an Anastasia book now that I feel like I know her grandmother and feel she would have been so much like her.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this ebook for a fair and honest review.

I have a great interest in Russian history, specifically the Romanovs, which is why I decided to read this in the first place. It was very interesting seeing everything from Minnie's point of view: as a non-native Russian who married into the empire and was the mother of the last Tsar.

This book moved very fluidly through time. There were definite moments of foreshadowing of the impending doom of the Romanovs, which I really liked. If the reader knows anything about the revolution, Anastasia, etc, there are clues throughout history that Russia was headed in that direction for a long time. I was quite surprised at Minnie's opinions of Alexandra (Alicky) as Nicky's wife. I never knew that they had such a tumultuous relationship and Alexandra's association with Rasputin was a major part of the Russian revolution.

Minnie is an excellent example of a strong woman who makes the best of her situation in history. At some points, she is at the top of the world. She is the Tsarevna then Tsarina, and the most fabulous woman in Russia. But she also experiences great despair at the loss of her husband and family. Her family experiences hardship and persecution, and she is strong throughout.

If you like historical fiction, you should definitely read this book. It gives a look at a character that isn't in the media or spotlight much, and that in and of itself is interesting.

We all know the story of Nicholas and Alexandra, but how many of us know the story of Nicholas’ mother? I confess, the thought of his mother’s life being of interest never really occurred to me until I saw this book.

Born Princess Dagmar of Denmark, Minnie (as she was known) went to Russia as the inexperienced, teenage bride-to-be of the country’s Tsarevitch and married into the Imperial Romanov family. From that time on, her life was one of glittering excess that defined the Russian royal family until the revolution that saw not only the murders of many of her family, but also her escape from Russia.

C.W. Gortner’s portrait of this fascinating woman is well researched and highly readable. I especially enjoyed how he presented Minnie’s views about her daughter-in-law. I felt he really brought the Imperial court to life.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.